AFSCME Council 57

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Even when we win, too often we lose out because the candidates we backed don’t live up to their campaign pledges to us. That’s why our commitment to political and legislative action has to go farther and deeper, if we are to impact the decisions that affect our daily lives. Our adversaries often outspend us by a wide margin. Even though organized labor continues to spend millions of dollars to support pro-worker candidates in elections, corporate America funnels substantially more money to our opponents. We need more resources and more activists to help make sure that the candidates we support prevail. We also need to work even harder to make sure that we hold the officials we elect accountable for the promises they make. Their campaign pledges are only as good as their follow-through.

To counter the unrelenting pressure from our opponents, our council operates a multi-faceted, year-round political and legislative agenda. That program works in concert with our organizing efforts and never lets up—a strategically planned, member-based action program that consolidates political action, legislative advocacy and fundraising under the banner of PEOPLE (Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality).

How does AFSCME get involved in politics?

Our jobs, wages and working conditions are directly linked to politics. Only through active participation in the political arena can AFSCME members have a say in policy-making and in electing candidates who support laws that benefit working families.

During the 2016 election, for example, we saw a correlation between our members' volunteer efforts and the election outcomes:

Dee Rosario was elected to the East Bay Regional Park District Board. AFSCME Local 2428 made this happen!

Diane Burgis was elected to the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors. AFSCME Local 2700 and AFSCME Local 512 made this happen!

Local 829’s strong efforts in San Mateo County resulted in David Canepa being elected to the Board of Supervisors and a worker-friendly majority in Daly City.

Ash Kalra was elected to the State Assembly to represent Assembly District 27 in San Jose, and a true union champion, Sergio Jimenez, replaced him on the San Jose City Council in District 2. Local 101 made this happen!

In Eureka, a young, progressive, AFSCME-endorsed candidate named Austin Allison was elected — to the dismay of the establishment candidates who had long held office. AFSCME Local 1684 made this happen!

We don't always win all our races, but AFSCME makes the difference in cities and counties where we work and live.